Sly Cooper and the Sealed Chaos
by Chronicler Zoni
Summary: Takes place between Sly 1 and 2. When a mysterious criminal organization kidnaps Murray and Bentley after Sly steals a mysterious artifact, Sly must team up with Carmelita and a secret agency called NEXUS to save his friends-and possibly the world! REVIEW
1. A Winter's Heist

**I do not own the Sly Cooper franchise. Sucker Punch does, though I have the games released so far and am looking forward to Playstation Move Heroes and Sly 4. The characters not shown in the games and comics are my own, including Louie Saint Leon. Read, enjoy and review!**

_Paris, France. 2:43 A.M. _

It was a cold winter's night in the City of Lights. Newly fallen snow and ice covered the rooftops of the tall townhouses, leaving a faint layer of frost on every window. Icicles hung everywhere in sight, as if Jack Frost himself had decided to decorate the beautiful city for the holidays with his own crystalline ornaments. All was still except for the sound of howling icy winds. No one in their right minds would want to go outside in this weather.

Well, all except one particular person.

Expertly leaping from roof to roof, a shadowy figure made his way through the freezing night. Somehow avoiding falling on the ice sheets that had formed on each roof's shingles during the last few hours, he easily skated across them. By gaining speed through this act, he jumped across the gaps formed between the homes by alleyways, making his way up to a luxurious apartment building that stood overlooking the Seine. It had a clear view of the Eiffel Tower, the romantic landmark surrounded by a warm glow of illumination against the darkness of the evening.

The structure was a construct of steel and glass, though classical elements like columns of polished marble, gold plated domes, and wide-open mosaic floored balconies also made up a part of its architecture. Above the apartment building's entrance were the words 'La Crème de la Récolte' in great silver letters. The pleasure gardens surrounding it were patrolled by dozens of large heavily armed guards. Over twenty stories high, the construct was clearly a place where those with deep pockets could show off their wealth in stylish comfort.

Which was exactly why it was the perfect place for a heist.

Stepping into the moonlight, the shadow revealed himself to be a young raccoon of over nineteen years of age. He wore blue gloves, black boots, and a dark blue sweater over a yellow shirt, with a belt that had a buckle shaped like a white raccoon head wearing a blue mask. On his grey furred head he wore an old blue cap, pulled over his masked coffee brown eyes. In his right hand he held a polished wood cane, its head a piece of gold plated metal shaped into a 'C.' If anyone from Interpol, the International Criminal Police Organization, were on that roof with him, they would have recognized the raccoon in an instant.

Sylvester Cooper, or Sly has he preferred to be called, was a master thief, descended from a long line of thieves dating all the way back to Ancient Egypt. Unlike most thieves, however, the Cooper Clan did not steal from hardworking ordinary folk.

There was no honor, no skill, and no fun in doing that kind of crime.

No, the Coopers only stole from other criminals, who had earned their money through wicked ends. That way, they knew they were masters at their art. Besides this code of conduct, the Cooper Clan had also been famous for writing "The Thievius Raccoonus," a book in which they recorded all of their exploits, along with all the special thieving tricks and skills they created during their careers. When Sly was eight years old, he would have gotten the book passed to him by his father, Conner, if not for a terrible tragedy. A criminal group called the Fiendish Five, who were enemies of Connor, broke into the Cooper home the very night Sly would have inherited the tome! They killed Sly's father, destroyed his house, and stole the Thievius Racoonus, leaving Sly an orphan while they separated with parts of the ancient book to commit more evil deeds around the world.

At the orphanage he was sent to, Sly met his best friends and future partners in crime: Murray and Bentley. Murray was a hippo who, though impulsive and not very bright, was loyal to his friends and served as the team's muscle and getaway driver. Bentley, a short and very geeky turtle, was the brain of their operation, gathering intelligence for Sly and designing plans for their heists. When they all turned eighteen, the friends formed a new Cooper Gang and soon became as infamous as Sly's ancestors before him. It had only been a year now since they had tracked down the members of the Fiendish Five, including their mad leader Clockwerk, and defeated the villains to retrieve the pages of Sly's family heirloom. With this recent restoration of his family's honor, Sly was back to do some more stealing in his favorite city on Earth. His current target was a priceless jade egg with a solid gold base that was once used to mark royal documents in ancient China. This Imperial Seal had been on display at the Louvre until it was stolen a few days ago, but from what Bentley found, it seemed as if the artifact was still in the city.

And Sly was getting ready to snatch it back from its thief.

The raccoon pulled a high tech pair of binoculars from a red pack strapped to his leg and looked through their powerful lenses at 'La Crème de la Récolte.' Sly examined the building, frowning with distaste at the waste of money before him. "I'm amazed they didn't go bankrupt building this place. It's got to be worth millions."

"Actually, if my research is correct, it should have taken approximately 21,542,430,000 euro to construct." A nasally voice answered through a communicator built into the raccoon's viewing device: the binocucom.

The raccoon almost slipped off the icy roof he was perched on in shock. "What! Bentley, where the heck did they get that much cash just for this eyesore!" he exclaimed.

"Well Sly, it seems that it was a group effort. A bunch of corporate big-shots led by some guy named Varanus Ladon got together a few years ago and pooled their resources to build their own personal playground, away from the lower classes of society. The only way to get an apartment here is if you can afford the high rental fee or if you know someone who can."

Sly had the binocucom zoom in on the structure's penthouse, a wide two story obelisk of shining bronze set with large stained glass doors and windows that opened up to a rooftop balcony, complete with a tropical garden and a swimming pool. "So I'm guessing that's where we'll find the Imperial Seal?"

Bentley, from his computer back at the gang's hideout, was able to link with the binocucom and see what Sly was looking at. "Precisely. A source of mine on Thief-Net informed me it was recently obtained by the current occupant of that penthouse. He's a world famous illusionist who calls himself, 'The Prestidigitator,' though his real name is Louie St. Leon. The guy has a suspicious habit of having his show tour in areas that get robbed of rare and valuable antiques during his stays. No one has ever caught the thieves responsible and the police, though they suspect him, have been unable to arrest St. Leon because he always performs when the crimes are taking place and is never found with the stolen goods."

Sly smirked, enjoying the thought of stealing from this rich magician more then ever. "Well, lets see if can do anything about that."

"Oh, Sly, before you go get Murray, I should tell you, Inspector Fox is on patrol tonight. Apparently Interpol noticed we were back in Paris and assigned her to track us down again."

Sly groaned in despair. "Oh that's just perfect! Not only do I have to watch out for whatever security this illusionist has around, I also have to watch out for that trigger happy vixen?"

"Unfortunately yes." Bentley stated.

Sly sighed and jumped down from the house he was on. He walked up close to 'La Crème de la Récolte,' making sure not to be seen by the security guards who were protecting the grounds. Spotting a large shape in a nearby alley, Sly ran up to it before he was seen.

The object was a big blue and purple van with orange flames painted on the side. The antennae of the van had a fake raccoon tail attached to it, while the front of the vehicle had a large metal plate shaped exactly like Sly's belt buckle.

Sly tapped the side of the van with his cane. "Hey, Murray! Wake up! I need you out here big guy!"

The van's front door opened and a hefty pink hippo got out of the driver's seat, drowsy from just being woken up from a nap. He was much taller then Sly and wore a baby blue shirt with a white scarf around his neck. Inspired by recently watching a lot of Mexican wrestling, he wore dark red gloves and boots that had tassels, along with a red goggled mask. The hippo opened his mouth wide and gave a long yawn before scratching his head and looking down at the raccoon. "Sly? Why did ya wake me up?"

Sly raised an eyebrow and pointed a thumb at the luxury apartment building in front of them. "The heist?"

"OH CUPCAKES! I FORGOT! WE WERE GOING TO STEAL THAT…" Murray began to yell out before Sly quickly covered his mouth with his gloved hand.

"Keep it down Murray!" Sly hissed. "If those goons guarding the joint hear us, we're toast!" He took his hand off of the hippo's mouth, noticed that powdered sugar had gotten on it, and wiped it on his sweater. "Have you been eating donuts before the job again? You know all that sugar knocks you out after a few minutes."

Murray blushed with embarrassment. "Gee, I'm really sorry Sly. I just was waiting here and then my stomach rumbled like an earthquake and I was afraid that the guards would hear it and I remembered this one all night bakery that was nearby and I should probably help you with the heist right now shouldn't I? He asked when he saw Sly tapping his cane against the pavement.

"That would be nice." Sly replied impatiently. He then sighed. "I'm sorry Murray. It's just that I really want to get this done with. Bentley said Carmelita is patrolling the city tonight and I don't want her to get here when we're stealing that Seal from under St. Leon's nose."

"You think she's still mad about how you kissed her back in Russia, then handcuffed her to that railing and ran away?"

"Well, let me think. The next time we met after that she tried to fry my tail with her shock pistol set on high and called me a few things in Spanish that I'm really glad I did not catch fast enough to understand. So yea I think she's still pretty ticked off."

Murray looked down at Sly, who seemed depressed after talking about Inspector Fox, and patted him on the back encouragingly. Sly almost fell over from the unintentional force of his buddy's gesture. "Cheer up chum! 'The Murray' is here for ya. So how bout we go steal that fancy stamp thingy? That'll be fun!"

Sly smiled at the hippo. Murray and Bentley were practically the only family he had and always seemed to know how to make him feel better when he was down. "Sure, lets get to it!" The two quickly ran up to the apartment building, keeping out of range of the security guards' flashlights. Sly turned to Murray. "Okay Murray. Throw me up to that balcony on the third floor."

"Got ya." Murray whispered. He picked Sly up and with all of his vast strength threw the thief up to his target.

Sly hooked onto the terrace's marble fence with his cane and jumped onto it. Waving down at Murray, he signaled the hippo to get back to the hideout. Spotting a statue of a Roman warrior standing to his right side, Sly climbed up onto the art piece and hooked onto the balcony above it. This he kept doing for many floors, using the very wealth of the structure's occupants as a ladder. _"It's a good thing the fat cats that built this place put so much stuff around I can climb. I'm already near the top and I haven't even needed to go inside!" _he thought smugly to himself.After only a few minutes, Sly finally reached the penthouse.

The bronze plated walls and roof gleamed softly in the moonlight. The sound of running water could be heard coming from a small waterfall that fed the balcony pool. Palm trees and orchids were kept warm by heating lamps built around the rooftop garden.

Sly was almost sweating from the hot air around him. "Well, I guess this is a nice change from all the ice down below. That illusionist must really like it humid."

"How right you are, Mr. Cooper." An oily voice spoke from behind him. Sly quickly turned around to find a middle-aged lime green chameleon watching him from an elegantly carved chair beneath a high silk canopy. The chameleon was slim and dressed in a black and white suit sewn with a swirling pattern that was dizzying to look at. In one hand the chameleon held a crystal glass of red wine, while in the other he held a handgun. The chameleon snickered at the look of surprise on the raccoon's face. "Ah, it seems that you were expecting me to just leave my home for the night and allow you to waltz in and take my latest prize. Is that right?" The chameleon chuckled again wickedly and sipped his wine.

Sly quickly regained his calm composure. "I assume you must be Louie St. Leon. Am I right?"

The chameleon glowered at Sly with his beady eyes and threw his glass at the marble floor in front of him. It smashed into a fine powder, spraying wine on the Sly's feet as it did. "Do not call me that, you infernal raccoon! I am the Prestidigitator! One of the greatest illusionists and escape artists since Houdini himself! You will call me by my stage name or I will just have to kill you right here and now." The magician then pointed his handgun at Sly in a threatening manner.

Sly raised his hands up in front of him. "Alright, 'Prestidigitator,' so you caught me. How exactly did you know I would show up?"

"It was not so difficult, my masked friend. You're not the only one with sources on Thief-Net. When I heard that the infamous Cooper Gang was back in Paris, I decided it would be best to watch and wait in case you decided to try taking the Imperial Seal. Now my patience has paid off!"

"So what do you plan to do exactly with that Oriental paperweight? If I'm right, you've already got a lot of expensive stuff."

The Prestidigitator gave a half smile. He snapped his fingers and a puff of smoke appeared around his free hand. When the smoke dissipated, he was holding a fist sized gilded egg. It was made of a deep green jade set into a hexagonal gold stamp and covered in Chinese script. "That is for me alone to know. Now, prepare to join your forefathers, Cooper." He began the pull the gun's trigger.

"Wait!" Sly cried out.

The illusionist stopped and scowled at his victim. "What is it now?"

"Just answer me this one final question. You are such a great magician, not to mention a thief. How did you steal all those treasures from the cities you performed in?"

The Prestidigitator, as Sly suspected, could not resist gloating. " It was really quite simple. Using my illusionary talents, I created a double of myself to perform for me during my show. While he was busy, I would make myself invisible, just like this."

The chameleon disappeared into thin air for a few moments, than reappeared.

"I would sneak into wherever my prize for the evening was located, took it without being caught on camera or by any foolish guards, then came back to my show where I hid the treasure inside one of my props, which I had lined with lead to prevent them from being detected. I then had the artifacts brought back here to Paris where I kept them in a warehouse I own on the Seine. Now that that is settled, it is time for you to meet your maker. Au revoir." He prepared to fire the gun again.

Sly clapped his hands in mock appreciation. "Bravo! That was a really good show."

The illusionist hesitated with his finger on the trigger and looked at Sly with confusion. "What are you babbling about?"

"Well, while you were bragging about yourself, I had the communicator in my binocucom turned on. My pal Bentley on the other end recorded your entire speech and sent it to Interpol. They should be here to arrest you pretty soon." The two thieves both turned their heads to the sound of police sirens sounding off from the street below them. Sly looked back at St. Leon and grinned cheekily. "Well, what do you know? The cops are already here."

The chameleon's skin grew red as he shook with rage, his long pink tongue darting out of his mouth as he screamed at Sly. "YOU…YOU…VERMIN! I WILL NOT BE OUTWITTED!" He raised his handgun and pressed the trigger.

BANG!

Sly, fortunately, was ready for the attack. Using an old move from the Thievius Raccoonus, he slowed down time around him just as the gun shot a bullet. Dodging the projectile, Sly swung his cane at the Prestidigitator, knocking the gun out of his hand and hitting him hard across his green face.

"Ugh…" The criminal grunted as he fell down to the floor, unconscious from the blow. The jade egg rolled out of his limp hand and headed towards the roof's railing, about to fall over the edge…..

Sly's foot stopped it just in time. He picked up the artifact, breathed on it, and shined it on his sweater's sleeve. "Well, that was a fun trick." He chuckled.

"Freeze raccoon!" A female voice with a slight Spanish accent barked. Sly turned to find a beautiful vixen pointing a shock pistol at his chest. She was in her early twenties, had yellow and orange fur, and hair so dark it was almost blue pulled back into a ponytail. She wore a light yellow jacket with blue jeans and an orange sweater, due to the cold. The only jewelry she was a single gold hoop earring on her left ear and a gold badge with a star on it around her neck that indicated her to be an employee of Interpol.

"Ah, Miss Fox…Didn't expect to see your lovely face again so soon." Sly said, attempting to be charming. He didn't like the way her shock pistol was shooting off sparks so frequently. That usually meant he was about to get REALLY hurt.

"Yea, I bet you didn't, criminal. And it looks like I got here just in time to arrest you for stealing the Imperial Seal!"

Sly looked at her in shock. "What! No way! It was Louie St. Leon who took the Seal from the Louvre! I just got him to confess it!" He gestured to where the magician had fallen, only to gap with disbelief when he saw the chameleon had vanished!

"_Duh! 'One of the greatest escape artists since Houdini himself.' That's just perfect." _Sly thought to himself unhappily.

Carmelita glared at the raccoon with disgust in her eyes, not believing his story. "Don't you lie to me! As if it isn't bad enough you stole from a museum, now you're trying to pin the blame on someone else?" She fired a blast of electrical energy at Sly, who quickly back-flipped so he landed on the balcony's marble fence.

"Look, I'm sorry for cuffing you to that rail back at Clockwerk's hideout. It was nothing personal, but my gang and I didn't feel like doing time in jail." Sly apologized, hoping she would stop attacking him if he seemed regretful.

That plan didn't work out so well.

Carmelita prepared to shoot again, her eyes filled with fury. "Well, that's too bad, because now, besides the crimes you have already done, you will be charged with resisting arrest!" The Interpol inspector fired her weapon, causing Sly to fall off the balcony and land onto a terrace on the floor below it.

Sly got up, only slightly bruised from the fall, and brushed himself off. "Carm, you really need to take some anger management classes." He suggested beneath his breath. He checked to see if the Imperial Seal had been damaged and sighed with relief to see it was unscathed. "That would have been a waste of a night if you got broken. Now lets get you back home and see what you're worth."

"Cooper!" A voice whispered sharply from all directions.

Sly almost dropped the jade egg in surprise, thinking Carmelita had followed him. He looked around the dark terrace, but did not see anyone, least of all a very violent Latina. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a figure materialized next to Sly, reaching out for the Seal.

Louie St. Leon!

"Back off Lou!" Sly shouted as he swung his cane at the chameleon. The cane's 'C' shaped head went right through the illusionist, as if he were made of mist. St. Leon frowned and turned into a column of smoke that surrounded the raccoon. Sly coughed as the noxious fumes filled his lungs.

"You may have taken my prize, raccoon, but be aware! You have made a dangerous enemy this night and I will not rest until I reclaim what is MINE!"

The Prestidigitator's hand shot out of the smoke and grabbed for the Seal, only to be beaten away again by Sly with his cane.

"Very well," St. Leon hissed. "Since you have taken something that is precious to me, I will be sure to return the favor. Just you wait…" The smoke dissipated, leaving Sly alone once more.

"Well, he sure knows how to make an exit." Sly gasped as he breathed in the clean winter air.

"Cooper!"

Sly looked around quickly, holding his cane high ready to fend off another attack by St. Leon. Instead he saw Inspector Fox burst through the double glass doors of the balcony's apartment, her pistol aimed and ready to fire. "There you are, you sneak! Now hand over the Imperial Seal and turn yourself in!"

"As much as I'd love to spend more time with you Inspector, I'm afraid I must be going." Sly tipped his cap at the vixen and threw a small black ball in front of her. The ball released a thick smokescreen that shielded Sly from Inspector Fox's view as he climbed down the side of 'La Crème de la Récolte' and ran off into the night.

When Carmelita finally got out of the diversion, she found her target to be long gone. "Blast you Cooper! When I find you again, I'm going to rip that smug grin off you face and…" Her cell phone suddenly rang, playing the tune of a salsa dance. She took it out of her jeans pocket and flipped it open. "Hello?" she grumbled.

"Fox, have you caught Cooper?" A gruff voice asked on the other end. It was Carmelita's boss, Lieutenant Barkley, a very irritable badger.

"No, sir. He got away along with the Seal. He also claimed that Louie St. Leon, you know, that Prestidigitator guy, was the one who stole it!"

"Well, that raccoon may be a thief, but he sure wasn't lying. An anonymous source just sent us a recording of St. Leon confessing to the robbery of the Imperial Seal, along with all the other antiques stolen during his magic acts. We're questioning his staff in the lobby right now, so you better get down here."

"Alright Barkley. I'm coming." Carmelita closed her phone with a snap and looked out at the view of Paris. "I can't believe that ringtail was telling the truth! Hmph, well that won't help him much." She turned from the balcony railing and walked back into the apartment.

"I'm going to find you Cooper."

_Hong Kong, China. Unknown time._

In a huge dimly lit office, a large shadow watched a live news report from France from a small screen built into his black marble desk. The reporter was a female red squirrel in a grey dress suit.

"As of 3:11 this morning, it was revealed by an unknown source that renowned illusionist and escape artist Louie St. Leon, or 'The Prestidigitator' as he is publically known, is the one responsible for the theft of the priceless Imperial Stamp that occurred earlier this week at the Louvre. Though Saint Leon's penthouse is under surveillance and his collection of other stolen artifacts has been discovered but three blocks from this very location by Interpol, the illusionist and the Seal are still at large. This is….."

The shadow pressed a button on the table he sat at, turning off the television. He then turned to a group of plasma screens that hung on the wall next to him. "Well?" the figure asked in a soft yet sinister voice.

Louie St. Leon was cowering on one of the screens, his eyes rotating around his head in panic. "It was not my fault sir! It was that miserable Cooper who is to blame! He attacked me and stole the Seal right from my hands!"

"And why was the Imperial Seal in you're hands in the first place and not in a secure location?" A muffled female voice dryly asked from another screen. The woman who it belonged to was covered in a green silk veil, concealing her face.

"I bet he just wanted to show off. What else do you expect from a performer?" A deep male voice with a Southern accent drawled. The owner of the accent was a brown horned toad wearing a polo tie with a turquoise badge and a white ten-galleon hat. "I for one aint surprised he got caught. Like my sainted ma always said, 'the flashiest chicken is the first to be plucked!'"

"Oh, spare us your Southern fried wisdom, Winslow." A snide male voice with a British accent told his associate. The television the voice came from showed a purple serpent wearing a red button down vest with a pair of gold-rimmed spectacles perched on his nose. "It is quite obvious we have a very serious predicament. We should stop chatting and start hunting down this raccoon before the Nexus does."

"Don't you talk to me like that, you bookworm, or I'll come over to that fancy shmancy manor of yours and beat ya to a pulp!

"Oh, really? I would just like to see you try…"

"Enough!" the shadow commanded. The arguing became silent. The shadow then turned his chair to St. Leon's screen. "I am going to give you one final chance. If you do not regain possession of the Seal by the end of next week, I will see to it that your membership in this organization is…..discontinued."

The chameleon gulped in sheer terror. He knew what the shadow meant by 'discontinued.' It meant if he failed, he would disappear. Permanently.

"Of course sir." He shakily replied. "It shall be done."

"Very good. Meeting adjourned." The shadow pressed another button on his desk, shutting off the plasma screens. He turned his rotating chair to the bulletproof window behind him and looked out at the neon lit city below.

"Soon, so very soon, our goal will be realized."

**What is going on here and who are these guys that want the Imperial Seal? Look out for the next chapter for some answers!**


	2. Fire and Ice

**I don't own Sly Cooper, Sucker Punch does. I do own the characters that are not in the series, however. I hope that you will enjoy this new chapter and get some answers you had from the last one. Please review to tell me what you liked!**

_Paris, France. 4:21 A.M._

In downtown Paris, an old railway station stood by itself, long since deserted after going out of business almost a century ago. The white and green paint had peeled off its walls, the windows of the ticket booths covered in cobwebs and frost. Though it seemed as if no one had been there in years, besides the occasional delinquent with a bottle of spray paint. Abandoned train cars still stood on the rusting tracks hidden behind the old building bulk. Out of all of them, a lone train caboose's was lit up like a large lantern.

This was not just an old train car, but was really the Parisian hideout for the Cooper Gang. Despite its grungy appearance, the inside was comfortably furnished with a T.V and video game console, a shelf full of stolen DVDs and books, and two tatty couches. In the very back of the car there was a couple of green hammocks and a small private bathroom complete with a toilet and shower.

Near the front door to the caboose Murray was talking to a short green turtle who was sitting at a computer console: the Cooper Gang's brain, Bentley. He was bald with thick brown eyebrows, and wore a pair of large thick glasses on his big nose. The clever turtle wore a yellow shell with white sleeves, and had a red bowtie around his long scrawny neck.

"Alright, alright, play it again!" Murray laughed.

Bentley chuckled "Okay, here it goes." He pressed a key on his computer, replaying the recording the gang had gotten of Louie St. Leon. The chameleon's sputtering came out of a speaker hooked up to the console.

"_YOU…YOU…VERMIN! I WILL NOT BE OUTWITTED!"_

The sound of him shooting at Sly and instead getting knocked out filled the room.

"_Ugh.."_

"HA, HA, HA! Man, I wish I was there to see his face when you pummeled him Sly!" Murray laughed so hard, he was practically crying as he held his sides.

Sly was lounging on a worn out green couch on the other side of the room. "Yea, I wish you guys could have seen. It was like this!" Sly made a goofy bug eyed face that sent his buddies into more hysterics.

Bentley was the first to calm down. He started looking up different news reports on his computer and was not pleased with what he had found. "Well, despite a very successful evening, it seems the Prestidigitator has yet to be apprehended." He turned to Sly and looked at him nervously through his broad specs. "Aren't you worried Sly? The guy did say he would get revenge."

Sly just smirked as he lay down on the couch with his hands behind his head. "What have we got to worry about, Bentley? The guy was a total pushover. He was all bark and no bite! Plus, now that I know he's able to turn invisible, he won't surprise me again so easily. My family practically invented that trick!"

The turtle frowned. "Maybe so, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't be cautious. This fallen illusionist might get desperate if he really wants that Seal back." Bentley looked around the shabby interior of the Cooper Gang hideout. "Where'd you put the darn thing anyway?"

Sly took off his hat and pulled the jade and gold artifact out of it. He then tossed the egg to Bentley. "Here ya go."

Bentley caught the Seal and placed it carefully onto the old desk his computer was set up on, along with piles of discarded plans and candy wrappers. Murray, who had been sitting on a stool that seemed ready to collapse under his weight, got up and looked at the ancient treasure. "Wow! This thing must be, like, a bajillion years old or something!"

"Actually Murray, if I did my math right, and I always do my math right, the Imperial Seal is amazingly over ten thousand years old!" Bentley corrected his large friend with excitement.

Sly got up from the couch, curious. "What? That can't be right. I've stolen a lot of loot before and anything as well made as that was usually only around two thousand years old at most!" He picked up the Seal and examined it. When he turned it upside down to look at the base, he raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Huh, Bentley, isn't there supposed to be some engraving on the bottom of this?"

"WHAT!" Bentley cried out in alarm. He snatched the Seal out of Sly's hands and looked at it himself.

Sure enough, where there would have been an engraving in the gold base for marking documents in ink, there was only a hexagonal hollow.

"This is horrible! The Louvre won't pay us a coin if we return this thing damaged! How could this have happened?" The turtle started breathing so hard he rummaged through a drawer in his desk until he found a white plastic inhaler and took a deep breath of it. He then turned and glared angrily at Sly. "Did you do this while you were playing 'Cops and Robbers' with Inspector Fox?"

"Huh? No, I was real careful with it!" Sly peered closely at the vacant space in the Seal. "Besides, this doesn't look like it happened recently. More likely it lost that part years ago."

Bentley saw he had a point and breathed a sigh of relief. "That's fortunate. I was really panicking there for a second."

Sly rolled his masked eyes. "Well, it wouldn't be the first time."

Bentley gaped at the raccoon. "That's ridiculous. I don't always behave like that!" The bespectacled turtle protested in his nasally voice.

"Sure ya do Bentley." Murray confirmed. He counted out the examples on his pudgy fingers. "There was that time when you were freaked out about all the germs and stuff when we were in Haiti. There was that other time when we went to India to steal that one Fire Stone and you almost passed out after tasting some curry. And when we went to Mesa City in the Southwest you covered yourself in, like, a barrel of sunscreen and wouldn't leave the van. And in…"

"OKAY! I GET IT!" Bentley shouted. He took another breath of his inhaler and got to work on planning how to return the artifact to its resting place at the Louvre, while at the same time getting a descent 'finder's fee.' Sly went back to the couch to rest up after the long night, while Murray adjusted the antenna on their television so he could watch a wrestling match that was on.

Meanwhile, outside the abandoned caboose, a lone figure in a high collared black and white cape was watching the Gang from across the old railways.

"Well, Cooper, I did say I would take something precious of yours," Louie St. Leon whispered as he held up a small black remote which had a single dark red button on it. The disgraced chameleon then smiled viciously. "I suppose it will have to be your life."

_Paris, France. 4:21 A.M._

Carmelita Montoya Fox stormed into Paris' Interpol Station, her face so full of anger that the other officers that worked there quickly formed a path for her, not wanting to get in her way. Making her way up to the fourth floor, she threw open the red door to her office and slammed it shut.

"NOT ONE LEAD! NOT ONE SINGLE LEAD ON COOPER OR ST. LEON! DIOS MIO! WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO DO TO CATCH A THEIF IN THIS TOWN!"

She punched the wall, leaving a large crack in the plaster, but also bruising her knuckles. Cursing in pain she sat down at her desk and tried to calm down. She had been trying to bring down Sly Cooper for about two years now, but whenever she got close to catching the thief, he somehow ALWAYS managed to get away! That raccoon was really obnoxious, especially when he flirted with her all the time.

As if she would actually like that criminal!

Sighing, the vixen grabbed a can of cola from the mini fridge she kept in her office. As she sipped the fizzy drink she looked at the diplomas and photos she had framed up on her wall. Carmelita had been one of the youngest inspectors in Interpol history, passing all courses with flying colors. She had brought down counterfeiters, terrorists, and psychopaths. She was adept in hand-to-hand combat, knew how to drive practically any kind of vehicle, and was a sharp shooter with her Shock Pistol. And yet she couldn't catch one nineteen-year-old thief!

KNOCK KNOCK

"Come in." Carmelita called as she sat down in a wooden rotating chair. Lieutenant Barkley opened the door, as always wearing suspenders with a button down white shirt and black tie while smoking a cigar. Though Carmelita never dared say so to him, she hated how his cigars stunk up the place. Following the old badger were two men Carmelita did not recognize, though it seemed as if they were also in law enforcement.

One of the men was a cat with grey fur and dark stripes running down his ears and face. He looked around his early to mid thirties and was wearing black pants, a white collared shirt with a dark blue tie, and a brown trench coat. Despite his age, he seemed about as tough as Barkley, with a hard look in his green eyes.

The other man was, to Carmelita's surprise, about the same age as she was, maybe younger. He was a Golden Retriever, though it appeared he might have had some Husky ancestry because of his icy blue eyes and curled tail. He wore an outfit similar to the cat, though he had no tie. He looked friendlier then his associate as well, though he seemed to be very curious about his surroundings, glancing at everything around him.

Barkley was the first to speak. "Fox, these guys are from the French government. It seems that the robberies committed by that chameleon have a lot of countries riled up." He took his cigar out of his whiskered mouth and blew out some smoke into the air.

Carmelita resisted the urge to cough.

"Since you were the first at the scene, and have experience with this sort of ciminal activity, they have a few questions for you. I've got to finish the paperwork on St. Leon, so I'll just leave you three alone to talk." The short lieutenant left the office, leaving behind a trail of smoke.

The grey cat shook hands with Carmelita. "Bojour, Inspector. I am Agent Marcus Doyle." He pointed a thumb at the dog. "This is my associate Agent William Zheng."

Agent Zheng for some reason, started to bow to Carmelita, and then stopped when Agent Doyle cleared his throat deliberately. The Golden Retriever straightened up with a sheepish look and instead shook her hand as well. "It is an honor to meet you Inspector Fox. We have heard many great things about you and your fight for justice."

"Um, thank you." Carmelita replied, puzzled by this odd greeting. "If you don't mind me asking, isn't Zheng a Chinese name or something?

"I am adopted."

Carmelita's face burned red with embarrassment. "I'm so sorry! I just haven't gotten much sleep lately because I've been tracking this one criminal for, well, way too long. I can't seem to get my head on straight."

Agent Zheng seemed confused by this, but remained silent and merely smiled and nodded in acceptance of her apology.

Agent Doyle cleared his throat to get Carmelita's attention. "Inspector, first things first, we need to know why you were at St. Leon's home before the confession was released to Interpol. Was he the criminal you have been tracking?"

"No, that would be Sly Cooper."

"SLY COOPER!" Agent Zheng exclaimed, his blue eyes wide with amazement. Agent Doyle glared at him forcibly, quieting his young partner.

Doyle turned back to Carmelita as if nothing had happened. He put his hands behind his back and looked carefully at her. "So Sly Cooper was working with St. Leon?"

Carmelita thought for a moment, remembering what Cooper had told her on the balcony. "No, I guess not. I thought he had been the one who had stolen the Imperial Seal from its exhibit at the Louvre." She then furrowed her brow in annoyance. "But he sure didn't hesitate to steal it then! By now, he's probably at his hideout bragging about it, that lowlife!"

The cat raised an eyebrow inquisitively at her response. "So I take it you dislike Cooper for personal reasons?"

"Personal reasons? What are you getting at exactly, Agent?" Carmelita asked with a warning tone.

"What my partner is possibly trying to ask Inspector," Agent Zheng quickly explained. "Is if you know that much about Sly Cooper as a person. Do you know if he would be one to keep such an artifact as the Imperial Seal? Or whether or not he is an honest man? Someone you could trust?"

"Well…" Carmelita did not know how to answer that question. Sure, Sly was a thief, so that made him a criminal that had to be arrested. On the other hand, he never seemed to steal from those who didn't deserve it. He had also saved her from being killed by Clockwerk after the malicious owl had captured her, even when the raccoon didn't have to. As much as Sly infuriated her, she could not help but admit that deep down, he was a descent person.

Carmelita then realized something. "What a minute…Why are you asking if Cooper can be trusted?" The agents did not answer her, though she could tell Agent Zheng was nervous by the way he glanced at his partner, as if expecting him to do something. "Alright, what's going on her?" She turned to Agent Doyle. "Okay, gato, what's your angle? What aren't you telling me?"

The grey cat's face was expressionless, as impassive as stone. He just stared at her with a steely look in his green eyes.

"Doyle," Agent Zheng said carefully. "Maybe we should tell her. She could be of more help if don't have to hide what we're doing."

Agent Doyle looked back at his partner and shook his head. "You know the rules. 'Secrecy is key to our cause.'"

"I may have been working with your organization for only a few months, but I do remember the rules also say 'If we and our cause are threatened, aid must be found, no matter the source.' If we want to succeed, we will need her."

Agent Doyle glared at the dog, but this time Agent Zheng stood his ground. The cat sighed in defeat. "Fine, kid, I'll let this slide." He turned back to Inspector Fox. "We are not really with the government."

Carmelita crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow mockingly. "Oh? I never suspected."

"Please save the sarcasm for later Inspector." The agent reached into his coat, making Carmelita swiftly take out her shock pistol from her holster in case she needed to defend herself. The cat looked at her weapon with little concern. "Inspector Fox, believe me, even if I wanted to hurt you, that would not do you much good." He took his hand out of the folds of his coat, showing the item he was reaching for was a silver badge. It was triangular with an eerily lifelike open eye staring from within it. "We work for an classified organization that is supported by every country within the United Nations. We call ourselves 'NEXUS,' and it is our job is to make sure certain…. phenomena do not endanger the general public.

Carmelita lowered her pistol and looked at him quizzically. "Phenomena?"

"Magic, psychics, mystics, monsters, demons, spirits, alternate dimensions and realms of existence, and such related things, if that is more accurate for you." Agent Zheng explained helpfully.

Carmelita looked at the two with skepticism. "Seriously? That sounds more like something out of a television show then real life."

Agent Doyle smirked. "You would be surprised of how strange 'real life' is if you just pay attention. After all, just last year you had to deal with a Mz. Ruby. Wasn't she a Voodoo priestess who had a nasty habit of raising the undead?"

Carmelita frowned. He did have a point there.

Agent Doyle placed his badge back inside his trench coat. "The real reason we are here is that the artifact that Mr. Cooper stole from Louie St. Leon is actually a powerful talisman of currently unknown origin that was discovered by the First Emperor of China millennia ago. Over time, not knowing of what they possessed, the Imperial dynasties reduced its use to stamping proclamations. I am asking you if Sly Cooper can be trusted because NEXUS is not the only one aware of the Seal's uniqueness."

"Who else could possibly know something like that?"

"A bunch of filthy, dishonorable BEASTS!" Agent Zheng growled furiously, his friendly face replaced by one of hatred. He clenched his fists tightly as he looked to the floor and bared his teeth. "They call themselves 'OUROBOROS,' after an ancient symbol of eternity, and wish for nothing more then for their dark wills to be obeyed!"

Shocked by the agent's personality change, Carmelita began to wonder who she should be more cautious of: him or Doyle.

"Anyway," Agent Doyle calmly continued for his partner. "They are a secretive group, with near limitless resources at their disposal, so we have been unable to discover any of their members besides St. Leon. If Sly Cooper still has the Imperial Seal with him, they will try to get it back. In any way they can."

The vixen's eyes widened, processing what he said. "But that doesn't make sense! If they're so rich, what could they stand to gain from the Seal? Why would they want it that badly?"

"Because, Inspector, though it might sound cliché, they want to rule the world, with every man, woman, and child under their unquestioned dominion. And the Seal could be the key to them getting their wish."

Barkley burst into the office, his brown mustached face panicked. "Fox, you've got to get out here!" He looked over at the agents. "I'm really sorry boys, but we need as many officers as we can get right now. There's been a huge explosion downtown at the old train station and it looks like it was a bomb!" The badger ran back into the hallway to alert the rest of the floor.

Inspector Fox nodded. "Sorry, guys. We'll have to finish this later!" She ran towards the doorway, but was stopped by Agent Zheng.

"Ms. Fox, we have to come with you. It can't be coincidence that something like this happens so soon after OUROBOROS lost the Seal. I know their methods, and this could be a way to lure you to them since you have knowledge of the Cooper Gang."

"Fine, just don't slow me down." The three ran as fast as they could down to the stations' parking lot. The agents climbed into the back of Carmelita's police car, while she took shotgun and turned the key in the ignition, bringing the vehicle to roaring life. "Hold on!" she shouted over the engine as she slammed her foot on the gas. The Interpol Inspector and two NEXUS Agents raced off towards downtown Paris, the car's sirens screaming to the flashing of blue and red lights. Due to the time of day and the recent blizzard that had swept through the city, little traffic got in their way, though Carmelita had to do some quick turning to prevent them from sliding on the icy roads into a lamppost or shop window. Finally making it downtown only after a few minutes of speeding, they stopped with a screech in front of the train station's entrance. Carmelita looked behind her to the back seat. "You okay back there?"

Agent Zheng had been holding onto the leather cover of his seat for dear life, his eyes shut tight as he silently prayed that the Latinia would not kill them. He opened his eyes when he heard Carmelita and relaxed, looking embarrassed. "I am now, thank you. I am not quite used to such forms of transportation." He replied quietly.

Agent Doyle, as usual, showed little emotional response. "You'll get used to it." He unbuckled his seat belt and waited until the other passengers followed suit before he left the police car.

"Not very warm, is he?" Carmelita asked the dog as they left the car and followed him towards the station.

He chuckled. "Not really. He's a great man and an even greater mentor, but when it comes to social skills he, well…"

"Has about as much personality as a wall of bricks?"

The Golden Retriever nodded. "Pretty much."

Catching up with the cat, the found themselves in front of a terrible sight. Where behind the station there had once been a series of railroads and forsaken train segments, there was a large smoking crater. Metal wreckage and glass shards were all over the place, slowly being buried by newly fallen snow. Carmelita got over the shock and started walking among the debris, searching for any clues as to tell who or what made it. Spotting someone trapped beneath what looked like the remains of a couch, she ran up to it and pulled away the scorched furniture. The vixen cried out when she found that the person was Sly Cooper! The raccoon had been spared the full force of the explosion thanks to the couch, but was badly hurt and from wounds in his right shoulder and leg. "Cooper. Cooper! Sly, can you hear me?" she shouted, fearing the worst. To her relief, he groaned and opened his eyes slightly.

He struggled to smile, despite the pain he was in, when he saw her. "In..Inspector? Am I in Heaven?"

Carmelita quickly wiped a few tears from her face before he could see she had started to cry. "No, ringtail, you just survived being blown up by a bomb. Figures you wouldn't even follow the laws of nature."

"Heh, well, I'm not really one for going by the rules." Sly tried getting up, but suddenly cried out in pain, putting his hand on his shoulder's injury. Agent Doyle and Agent Zheng heard him and ran up behind Carmelita. Agent Doyle kneeled next to Sly and took a small case from his coat pocket. He popped open the lid and poured a blue powder onto the thief's cuts. Sly hissed in pain as a twisting vapor came from where the powder landed.

Carmelita grabbed the cat's hand, holding him back from using anymore of the azure grains. "Es tu loco! Are you crazy? What the heck are you putting on him!"

The agent, with incredible strength, pulled his arm out of her grasp and continued what he was doing. "This is a disinfectant designed by NEXUS in case of injuries in the field. If you'll stop interrupting me, I can make sure he survives these wounds." He looked down at Cooper. "I realize you are in a lot of pain right now, but what happened here? Where is the Imperial Seal?"

"The..Seal? Bentley was looking at it and then there was this big explosion. It threw me in the air and…next thing I know…" Sly, without warning, got halfway up and looked around him searchingly. "Where's Bentley! And Murray! Are they okay!" He tried to get to his feet, but started falling into unconsciousness. Agent Zheng, thankfully, was able to catch the raccoon before he met the ground. He brought Sly up and carefully put the thief's unhurt arm around his neck to help support him. The sound of sirens from other Interpol vehicles started approaching them.

Agent Zheng turned to Doyle. "We need to get him out of here, NOW. His friends aren't here, so OROBOROS must have taken them with the Seal."

Agent Doyle nodded and took out the NEXUS badge he had shown Carmelita earlier. He rubbed his thumb on the metal eye three times and cupped it in his hands. "I request the Seelie, by star and stone and blood bound oath, to provide us safe passage in this fateful hour." He whispered over the badge.

Fizzling green energy shot out of the eye's pupil and formed a ring around the group. A faint haunting melody and the smell of fresh grass filled the air as Sly, Agent Zheng, a very startled Carmelita, and finally Agent Doyle, glowed with the same light and vanished in a burst of light particles.

**Hope you liked this chapter. Please review and look out for the next one, where Sly and Carmelita learn more about NEXUS!**


	3. Welcome to NEXUS

**I don't own Sly Cooper, Sucker Punch does. I do own the stuff not in the games and comics, though, so don't even think of taking them! Please enjoy and review this newest chapter!**

_Unknown Place. Unknown Time._

When Sly once more became conscious, he found himself no longer at the scorched remains of his hideout, but instead resting in a clean, white plastered room. He was wearing a light blue dressing gown and his shoulder and leg were bandaged up while he rested in a railed bed beneath cotton sheets. Across from his bed was an open door way to a small bathroom, while on the right hand side of the room was another door, closed tight and made of a thick dark wood.

On a little table next to him his clothes were neatly folded, his cap and satchel placed on top of them. Leaning against the nightstand was, he was surprised to see, his cane.

"_I don't remember having my cane when the hideout blew to pieces." _Sly thought as he gazed at his new surroundings. _"And where the heck am I?" _Sly's eyes widened when he remembered whom he last saw before he passed out. "_CARMELITA!" _He groaned with the thought. _"She probably took me to a hospital after she found me. When I'm done healing up, she'll probably put me in prison!" _

He quickly moved himself up a little, trying to ignore the ach from his wounds, and looked for anything he could improvise as an escape route. Unfortunately, the room had no windows and the only air vent was way too small for him to crawl through. He glanced at the heavy wooden door at the other end of the room, but gave up on that plan since it probably was locked, and he didn't even have a paperclip to pick it with. Collapsing on his mattress with a huff, Sly leaned his undamaged arm on one of the rails of his bed and tried to think about how to get out of this newest incident he had fallen into.

The door flew open and an old brown doe in a nurse's uniform walked in wheeling a cart built with many drawers running down it. She had grey hair tied back into a ponytail, dark green eyes, and a kind smile on her face. Noticing Sly was up, she laughed heartily before speaking to him with an Irish accent. "Well, well. Look who finally decided to wake?"

She wheeled her cart up to Sly's bed and pulled out a plastic tray with a warm helping of roast chicken, mashed potatoes, and green beans placed on it. She clipped the tray onto the rails of the bed, so that it was like a table over his lap.

"Now eat up. You were in quite a bad state when they brought you in, so you'll need to get back as much energy as you can."

Sly looked at the meal, and realized he had probably not eaten in hours. When his stomach rumbled, he decided to dig in. The doe smiled when she saw the raccoon eating and walked back to the cart to wheel it out.

"Wait a minute!" Sly called when he saw her leaving. He quickly swallowed the chicken he had been eating so his mouth wasn't full. "Can you tell me where I am? Which hospital in Paris have I been taken too?"

The doe laughed again and walked up to the bed. "Poor dear, you don't know where you are, do you?"

"Uh, no, that's why I asked. I was hoping you could tell me."

"Well I guess you'll learn about it soon enough, so I guess it would be alright to tell you." She pulled up a chair that was in the corner of the room and sat down next to the bed. She smoothed the wrinkles out of the apron she was wearing and rested her hands in her lap before answering Sly's question. "Now, I don't know how open-minded you are, dear, but your not in any hospital, at least, not one in Paris."

Sly's brown eyes widened in shock. "WHAT? I'm not in Paris? Then where on earth am I?"

The doe held up her hand. "Calm down. I was getting to that." She put her hand back in her lap. "You are not in any specific city or country, but in a neutral, and before you ask, classified location which is the base for NEXUS, a secret government funded organization."

Sly raised an eyebrow at this. "Okay….Why would a secret organization bring me to their headquarters? I'm not sure if you know this, but I'm just a thief. I'm not a terrorist or anything like that."

The doe shook her head, smiling. "Mr. Cooper, I know very well who you are. NEXUS has dealt with your family in the past, though not that recently until now." She frowned unhappily. "You've been brought here because that artifact you stole, the Imperial Seal, was coveted by a group of criminals named OROBOROS. Very nasty folk, they almost killed you by activating explosives they planted in that train car you were living in. You were in such bad shape, I had to wake up Maggie to help treat you."

"Who's Maggie? Another nurse?"

"What? No, no. She's much better then that." The old woman looked around the room. "She should still be in here. MAGGIE!"

A snowy white bird appeared out of nowhere and flew around the room, landing on the end of Sly's bed. She had a golden beak, a long swanlike neck, and a faint glow like a heat wave around her body.

Sly slowly reached for his cane, but got his hand swatted away by the doe. "HEY! What ya do that for?"

She frowned at Sly disapprovingly. "Now don't you be thinking of hurting Maggie! The sweet girl practically helped save your life after Agent Doyle brought you in."

Sly rubbed his stinging hand. "Okay, I'm sorry. It's just, well, look at her! She looks like she's radioactive or something!"

"She's not 'radioactive.' She's enchanted. Maggie's a caladria, a healing bird found only in the Mediterranean. Her kind can absorb all of the sickness and pain folk have into their feathers and release it into the sun, where it evaporates like morning mist."

"Seriously?"

"Of course. Why, I remember when my Bran was still here. Whenever he got in a scrap in the field, I always could rely on Maggie to help me patch him up." The doe stared dreamily into space for a moment, than shook her head lightly. "By the way, my name is Gwyn O' Hara. I'm head of medical care here at NEXUS." She held out her hand to Sly.

The raccoon shook it politely to stay on the nurse's good side. "Sly Cooper, as I guess you probably know already." He glanced warily at Maggie, who was watching him with intelligent yellow eyes. "So, why does NEXUS have something like her?"

A Golden Retriever walked into the room, dressed in black pants, a white button down collared shirt, and a brown trench coat. "Because NEXUS deals with all manner of the supernatural, Mr. Cooper." The dog said simply as he came up next to Gwyn. He looked down at the doe. "Doyle wants to know if he is ready to come down yet for the debriefing."

Gwyn smirked. "Impatient as always, that tom. Yes, I believe Mr. Cooper will be making a full recovery." She got up and clapped her hands. Maggie flew off of the end of the bed and landed on her shoulder. "I'll just be getting back to work then. Oh, and Zhi?" She turned to the dog. "You should probably check up on 'them' in the Armory. Jacquimo got so tired of their bickering that he locked them up in a sound proof case."

The Golden Retriever ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. "Why am I not surprised?"

The old doe smiled understandingly and, after taking the half eaten meal from Sly, wheeled the metal cart out of the room; the caladria perched on her shoulder. After she left, the dog, or Zhi from what Sly heard, walked up to the threshold. He turned back to Sly. "We'll need you to get dressed. I'll just wait outside until you are done, then everything will be explained." Zhi looked outside, watching the old nurse go down a long white tiled hallway. "At least, the parts Gwyn didn't tell you." He said with a chuckle as he closed the door.

"_Okay, this is just getting weird." _Sly thought to himself as he unsteadily got out of bed. _"First my hideout explodes, Murray and Bentley disappear, Carmelita doesn't arrest me after she finally catches my tail, and, apparently, I'm a guest at a top secret facility that has magic birds." _After getting to his feet, Sly took his clothes off the nightstand and got dressed. _"And didn't that one guy say something about working with 'the supernatural?' It's like one of those science fiction shows Bentley likes to watch." _After placing his cap over his spiky grey hair, Sly grabbed his cane and headed towards the door, still aching slightly but feeling well enough to walk. He opened the door, which was now unlocked, and went into the hall.

Zhi was leaning against a nearby wall when Sly came outside, but straightened up when he saw the raccoon. "Good, you're ready." He waved his hand down towards the end of the hallway. "Now, just follow me and we can get to work on finding your Gang."

That was all Sly needed to hear. He followed after the Golden Retriever past seemingly endless doors, all of them made of the same dark wood. Sly couldn't help but notice that the outside of every door had strange symbols painted on them in many different colors. "Uh, so what's with the graffiti?" He asked his guide.

Zhi replied with his back still to Sly. "Those are sigils. They're spells of protection placed on the rooms to prevent any harmful metaphysical forces from entering and 'disturbing' the occupants."

"Alright…" Sly murmured, slightly creeped out. He looked closer at the psychedelic glyphs, but turned away when they seemed to move by themselves on the wood, like oil in water.

"_This is going to be A LOT to take in." _

Finally reaching an elevator, Sly watched as Zhi took a keycard from his coat pocket and swiped it through a slot by the closed steel doors. The elevator's gates flew open, beckoning its passengers within. The two men walked inside, where Zei typed a code into a keypad built into the back wall. The doors slid shut. Sly could feel the elevator descending quickly. Noticing the silence, Sly tried to make some conversation. "So, what? NEXUS has all this security, but doesn't even have elevator music?" When Zhi looked at him quizzically, not quite understanding his joke, Sly rolled his masked eyes and waited until they finally stopped on a lower floor. When the doors reopened, Sly almost fainted again at the sight before him.

He was looking over a vast expanse the size of six football fields. Hundreds of people were rushing all over the place, entering and leaving through other elevators and through many storied glass tunnels, connected with large railed platforms. High tech computers and machinery that would have made Bentley salivate were built into the ceiling and platforms, monitored by groups of people in black trench coats. In the center of the area was a great titanium column. The post had circuitry built into it that was curiously arranged around similar symbols like the sigils Sly had noticed earlier in the medical ward. These symbols pulsed with green energy, their light rising and fading every other second.

Zhi noticed Sly's slack jawed expression and grinned. "Welcome to NEXUS, Mr. Cooper."

The raccoon snapped out of his shocked state and followed the dog out of the elevator. "Alright, I'll bite. Where do you put a place this big?

Zhi shrugged as he made his way down a glass tunnel attached to the platform. "I'm not quite sure exactly. They don't speak about it that much, for confidential reasons, but I believe its somewhere deep beneath the earth's surface."

Sly caught up with him, suddenly remembering something. "Hey, wait a minute. You were one of those guys with Inspector Fox at the train station!" The dog nodded. "If that's the case, then how come you don't know where we are? You helped bring me here, didn't you?"

"Well, sort of. It was Agent Doyle who actually got us to NEXUS."

Sly looked blankly at him.

"Oh, sorry. That grey cat that disinfected your wounds."

Sly shuddered slightly when he remembered the freezing sting of the powder Doyle used. "Yea, now I remember him. So how'd he get us here?"

Zhi turned at a corner in the walkway, going towards a platform built into the wall on the other end. "He called up the Seelie, the benign court of Fairie, to transport us through their magic. We had to do so to avoid Interpol from finding you and to quickly get your injuries healed." Zhi and Sly exited the tunnel and walked up to a line of metal doors. "This organization has been allies with the Seelie for centuries. I've heard its because NEXUS once freed them from the Fomorians, water demons that have been the natural enemies of Fairie since the dawn of creation."

Sly kept quiet as the dog opened one of the doors by again using his keycard. The raccoon didn't really know how much of this stuff he could absorb in one day! _"Now they're telling me there is such thing as FAIRIES? I'm not Bentley, but even I have to admit this is unbelievable!"_ To Sly's relief, they now seemed to have entered a museum, a more familiar site to him. Fine wood paneling made up the walls with a floor of white marble. Glass cases filled with various artifacts from every culture and time were placed in any available space, leaving only enough room for small paths between the displays. Large animal skeletons hung from the ceiling: some had wings, others had straight or curved horns, while more then a few seemed a bizarre mix of different species. Sly spotted a display case that featured a large ruby set in a thick solid gold ring. Unable to resist, Sly quietly, while Zhi walked on, began lifting the lid of the case.

"GET AWAY FROM THAT!" A voice roared from behind Sly. He quickly shut the lid and turned to see a chubby old mole glaring at him from behind a bronze idol of a many armed Hindu deity. He was wearing an old fashioned brown vest and a red tie with a silk shirt and a pair of striped trousers. On his large pink nose was a pair of glasses that were as big as dinner plates. The mole waddled up to Sly and smacked him across the head. "IMBECILE!" The mole shouted with a faint Austrian accent. "If you touched that gem, you would become nothing but ash, which I would then have to clean up!"

"_What's with all the hitting around here?" _Sly thought angrily as he rubbed his head. "Sheesh, alright, buddy, I won't touch it!" He glanced at the ring. "Why do you even have something so dangerous out in the open anyway?"

The mole wrinkled his nose. "Because it is a valuable mystical object, just like the rest of the artifacts in here! Only an IDIOT would take them lightly." The mole narrowed his eyes at Sly, than snorted with disgust. "I see I am correct, since it is quite clear from your genetic structure that you are a Cooper."

"Hey! I'm not a.." Sly stopped protesting about being called an idiot and looked curiously at the short old man. "Wait. How did you know I was a Cooper?"

The mole took a spotted handkerchief out of his pocket and started wiping off the smudges Sly's gloves left on the glass. "As if I would not be familiar with your clan. I've seen around, lets see, FOUR Coopers in my lifetime and two of them when they came here were also so stupid as to try to steal from the Armory! Both almost killed themselves in doing so. These things may be old, but they still possess great power."

Sly had never read in the Thievius Raccoonus about any of his ancestors visiting a place like NEXUS. He was about to ask the mole which Coopers he was talking about, when Zhi, having noticed Sly had wandered off, finally found him. "There you are, Mr. Cooper!" He spotted the mole. "Oh, hello Jacquimo! Can you tell me where you put the Blade? I can't seem to find it anywhere."

Jacquimo frowned as he adjusted his giant spectacles. "Ah, yes. I don't quite see why you still wish to keep that thing. Those two are like infants, always whining and shouting about the most foolish subjects! If I were you, I would have just left it at that monastery of yours!"

"You know I couldn't do that. Anyways, where did you put it?"

The old mole pointed down an aisle of displays near him. "Ninth case down, between the mummified vampire skull and the Ojibwa dream catcher."

"Thank you." Zhi bowed to the mole, which seemed to please him, and turned to Sly. "It would probably be best if you stayed with me for now on. I have some friends of mine I want to introduce you to before we meet up with Doyle."

"Sounds good to me." Sly followed the dog down the aisle. He turned around and waved sarcastically at Jacquimo. "It was REALLY 'nice' to meet you!"

The mole glared at the raccoon. "That feeling is mutual, young Cooper." He smiled nastily. "Please refrain from killing yourself while in here."

"No promises!" Sly called back as he followed Zhi past a grey fanged skull and stopped with him in front of a long wooden case with glass windows. Inside was an old Oriental sword, possibly Chinese in origin, in a simple leather sheath. Zhi opened the case and removed the blade from its scabbard. The bronze hilt and crossguard were shaped to look like a horned giant holding a withering dragon in the air while he pushed a phoenix to the ground with his foot. The blade was forged straight and made of an unknown metal that somehow was white on one side and black on the other. A series of trigrams ran down the sides, colored white for the black side and black for the white. In the middle of the blade between the trigrams was a circle within which the black and white metal swirled around each other, each having a spot of their opposite color within them.

Sly was about to ask about the sword, when he heard the voices.

"About time you got back!" A high-pitched voice whined. "Do you KNOW how long I had to go without another guy to talk to?"

"Oh, please shut up!" Another high-pitched voice more feminine then the first yelled. "As if you wouldn't be used to it after over ten millennia!"

Sly looked left and right, trying to find the source of the strange voices from nowhere. "Who's that?" He scratched his head with the head of his cane and looked at Zhi. "Uh, I think I got hurt worse then I thought. I'm starting to hear things!"

Zhi shook his head. "No, you're not hearing things Mr. Cooper." He held up the sword in front of him. "I would like to introduce you to Tai and Jitu. Guys, come out and meet our new ally, Sly Cooper."

White energy and black fog spiraled out of the blade and circled Sly's head. The white energy formed into a small Chinese dragon with white scales, red horns, orange hair, and yellow eyes. The black fog formed into an equally diminutive phoenix with black plumage, purple wings and claws, green tail feathers, and blue eyes.

The dragon floated in front of Sly's stunned face and looked at him with a whiskered smirk. "So this is the thief that's supposed to help us? HA! I've seen bigger muscles on a baby silkworm!"

The phoenix shot a look of loathing at the dragon. "Strength isn't everything you know, moron!" She turned to Sly. "Sorry about him. If something isn't big and exciting, it's not worth his short attention span."

Zhi frowned at the spirit dragon. "Tai, please stop speaking that way to Mr. Cooper. He is much more then he appears. He did, after all, defeat the Panda King!" The dog then turned to the phoenix. "Jitu, you stop insulting Tai. We need to work together if we want to get through these difficult times, remember?"

Tai turned from Sly and rolled his large yellow eyes. "Jeez, Zhi! You sound way too much like Pangu! He was always going on about 'peace' and 'harmony' and all that junk too!"

"That's because even back then you two were still fighting!" Zhi stated firmly.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Tai replied mockingly, waving his claws in the air. Jitu smacked him with her wing. "HEY, WATCH IT BIRDBRAIN!" He snapped at her.

The phoenix raised her brow sarcastically. "Oh, I'm sorry, did that hurt?"

"NO!" The dragon huffed indignantly. "I just don't want to catch bird flu from your feathers! They're probably swimming with disease."

Jitu's blue eyes became aflame with fury. "YOU TAKE THAT BACK, LIZARD LIPS!"

"MAKE ME, CHICKEN LEGS!"

Zhi moved swiftly between the two quarreling spirits before they started exchanging blows. "ALRIGHT, I THINK THAT"S ENOUGH!" The Golden Retriever put the sword back into its sheath.

"Oh, look what you did…." The phoenix murmured as she turned back into dark smog and went back into the blade.

"Wait! Not back in there with her…" The dragon started to cry as he transformed into white energy and also went back into the weapon.

Zhi sighed with relief and grinned at Sly, embarrassed by his friends' behavior. "I am REALLY sorry you had to hear them like that. They're not so bad as long as they don't argue."

Sly waved away his apology. "That's okay. To tell you the truth, they were kind of funny." He chuckled, remembering the insults the spirits traded. "I'm shocked they haven't killed each other already!"

"Thankfully they can't." Zhi took a strap attached to the scabbard and put it over his chest, carrying the millennia old weapon on his back. "I think we're done in here. How about we go see Doyle?"

"That depends. Is Carmelita with him?

The dog nodded, wondering why the raccoon asked that question. "Yes."

Sly gave a thumbs up and smiled playfully. "I'm in!"

**What does Doyle have to say to Sly? Where did Zhi get his sword? What did OROBOROS do with Murray and Bentley? Find out next chapter!**


	4. Explanations All Around

**I don't own Sly Cooper, Sucker Punch does, but I do own the other characters included in this story. Please enjoy and review to tell me what you think!**

_Phoenix, Arizona. U.S.A. 7:25 P.M._

"Er…My aching head.." Murray mumbled as he woke up. He looked around to find himself in a cramped dark cell, a barred and heavily padlocked gate the only entrance and exit. "Oh, great, have I been sleepwalking again?" the pink hippo exclaimed unhappily. Then again, when he stopped to think about it, he did not remember even going to bed. All he remembered was that he was watching Major Uno body slam the Carne on Wrestlerama, when there was a big flash of light. Then everything went black.

"Don't ya fret, big fella," A deep voice drawled from outside the cell. A dark brown horned toad wearing a white suit, pollo tie, and a flat brimmed ten-galleon hat, came up to the bars and smiled smugly. "Ya haven't been sleepwalkin', though I assure ya you're going ta wish that were what happened."

Murray looked at the man's outfit with confusion. "Who the heck are you supposed to be, a cowboy?"

"I'm much obliged ya think that hippo, but no. The name's Carl Winslow and I'm going ta be yer captor for the next, oh," the horned toad pretended to count on his fingers, then formed his hand into a fist and grinned menacingly at Murray. "Last days of yer miserable life!"

Murray's eyes bulged out of his goggles. "WHAT! You're a warden? Am I in prison?"

"Naw, I'm just a humble businessman, though I'm afraid ya are kinda in prison," Winslow guffawed. "But not the kind yer thinkin' of!"

Murray was starting to get fed up with this spiny jerk. He pointed at the reptile. "Alright, listen up polo boy! You better let me out of here right now or 'the Murray' is going to redecorate YOUR FACE!"

Winslow pretended to shake with fear, then laughed again and tapped the bars on the door with a claw. "I'd like ta see you try. This here cell is built into an old copper mine, so ya cant get through the walls. Not ta mention I made sure these bars were made of solid titanium. Nope, not even yer muscle can break outta here! And besides," The horned toad stopped laughing and glared at Murray maliciously. "If ya try to get out, I'm afraid yer little poindexter buddy will have to pay the price."

"Bentley?" Murray suddenly realized what that bright light was. He should have known after all the times he had seen Bentley building explosives to use for their heists. It must have been a bomb! He grew red with rage. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH HIM YOU BUFFALO BILL WANNABE? AND WHERE"S SLY?"

This irritated the 'businessman' very much. He spat at the ground. "Now I don't know where yer coon friend is, but if ya don't keep yer fat mouth shut," Winslow pulled a steel plated revolver from his belt. He shined it on the sleeve of his jacket. "I just might get a little ticked off and let out my frustration on the turtle."

Murray deflated slightly, still fuming with anger. He wouldn't risk his little green buddy getting hurt. Dejected, the hippo sat down on the hard stone floor and glared at his boots.

Winslow grinned toothily. "There now, that's more like it." He put his gun away and turned from the cell door, going back up the stairway he had entered from. "Ya just stay put, and we'll get along quite nicely."

_Unknown Place, Unknown Time._

After being given a short tour of NEXUS by Zhi, or as Sly learned he was called when on the surface, William Zheng, they finally made their way into a large conference room simply furnished with a long well polished mahogany table and leather covered revolving chairs. Agent Doyle was at the far end of the table, frowning over a stack of papers in his hands. Next to him was an elderly raven in a blue suit, a bronze cane with a quartz crystal head resting in his hands. Carmelita, impatient for the meeting to begin, was shining her shock pistol. Across from Inspector Fox was a blond rabbit in her early twenties wearing a tied dyed sundress and a light green headband, playing with a beaded necklace around her neck

When Sly and Zhi entered the room, the thief couldn't resist smirking at the vixen. "If it isn't my favorite cop." He sat down in the chair next to her. "Looks like we might be working together." He said with a roughish smile.

"Watch yourself Cooper." The Inspector growled, waving his weapon at him. "The second this mess you made is cleaned up, I wont hesitate to put you behind bars!"

Sly frowned. It wasn't his fault that a bunch of psychotic criminals were after them! "We'll just have to see, won't we?" He was pleased to see she grew more irritated. _"As always, she's quite lovely when she's angry." _He thought as he relaxed in his seat.

Agent Doyle put the papers he was holding down onto the table's surface and placed his hands over them. Looking out to Sly, Carmelita, Zhi, and the rabbit he cleared his throat loudly to get everyone's undivided attention. "Now that you're all here, I believe some introductions are in order." He nodded to the raven he was next to. "For Mr. Cooper and Inspector Fox's convenience, this is Elijah Corvus, the Chief Executive of NEXUS. He has graced us with his presence because our situation right now has become extremely critical. With the Imperial Seal in the hands of OROBOROS…"

"Not to mention my gang!" Sly interrupted, pointing a finger in the air.

Doyle scowled darkly at him, but Elijah Corvus chuckled lightly and gestured the cat to continue. Sighing heavily, the grey tom went on speaking. "It is only a matter of time before they put it to use. If we want to make it through this alive, we'll first need to know what to expect." He turned to the blond rabbit, who was still twisting the end of her necklace around her fingers. "Miss. Hutchinson, if you would?"

The young rabbit was so engrossed with her clay and glass jewelry that she did not notice she was being spoken to.

"Miss Hutchinson!"

She looked up with mild surprise in her grey eyes. "Oh, were you talking to me, Marcus? You know I like to be called Marigold."

"And you know I don't like to be called by my first name." The cat retorted. "Now please tell us what you have discovered so far."

"Oaky doky!" Hutchinson, or Marigold, said cheerfully. She reached below the table and hefted up large bag made of pink dyed woven wool. Opening the accessory's cavernous mouth, she starting taking out tattered books and yellowed papers, humming a tune as she did.

Carmelita couldn't believe that an agency like NEXUS would have someone so airheaded working for them. Rolling her eyes, she tapped her fingernails on the arm of her chair.

Her cynicism did not go unnoticed by Doyle. "Inspector Fox, I know what you're thinking, but Miss Hutchinson.."

"Marigold!" the rabbit called out as she searched through her bag.

"Marigold," the agent corrected himself. "Is a valuable member of NEXUS. Despite her 'flower child' appearance, she is descended from a long line of witches going all the way back to Salem, Massachusetts.

Carmelita found that hard to believe. "Okay, you may have convinced me about all the other mumbo jumbo before, but there is no way that SHE is a bruja."

"Oh, nuts to this!" Marigold put her bag onto the table and raised her hands over it. Her voice became distorted and her eyes grew cloudy as she intoned, "_By heart of oak and blessed hill, endow these objects with mine will!" _The papers flew up in a whirlwind of motion, flying all around the room until they landed in a neat pile in front of her. Her eyes grew clear again as she lowered her hands and smiled to an astounded Carmelita.

Struggling not to laugh, Sly smiled at the stunned vixen. "You were saying?"

Marigold plucked a small pair of hot pink glasses out of thin air and began reading from a neatly rolled scroll on top of the heap. "The Seal of Creation. The Heaven's Gift. Forged from the Eight Powers to seal away the forces of vice. It was wielded by the World Giant, the Eminent Pangu, who before entering eternity banished the Chaos within confinement. May it be lost to the ages and never disturbed." She looked up from the scroll, her shaded pink eyes sparkling. "I just love this old Asian literature. Its so poetic!"

"Yes, quite." A gentle voice agreed. Everyone turned to look at Elijiah Corvus, who had just spoken for the first time since the meeting began. The elderly crow turned his wise gaze from the witch to Zhi. He pointed the head of his cane, which Sly and Carmelita could now see was carved in the shape of an eye, at the sword on the dog's back. "I believe it is time Tai and Jitu gave us their side of this, don't you?"

Zhi nodded and drew the blade from its sheath. Placing it carefully on the table, he along with everyone else watched as white energy and black fog rose from the weapon and formed into the dragon and phoenix spirits.

Tai was scratching behind his pointed ears when he formed. "Yep, I definitely feel like I caught something. It feels like chicken pox!" He lowered his head towards Zhi and pointed at the back of his skull. "Doesn't this look like a rash?

"I already told you, I'm not diseased!" Jitu snapped. "And you're an even bigger idiot then I thought if you really think you can get chicken pox from a bird!"

"Well something is making me itch! And I can't think of anything else besides…." The dragon stopped whining and noticed the group of people sitting around him. "Oh boy, here it comes."

Jitu, also noticing the spectators, ruffled her feathers slightly and flew back towards the sword.

Zhi raised a hand in front of the phoenix, stopping her from reentering the blade. "Sorry Jitu, but you two need to explain what happened."

Jitu sighed wearily and shrugged. "Why bring up ancient history? What's done is done."

"That may be true, but now the past is threatening the present." Corvus said grimly. "We need to know EVERYTHING, despite the painful memories it may cause you."

Jitu became silent.

Tai floated up to her and grimaced. "You know, they may be right…"

"But how were we supposed to know what would happen?" Jitu suddenly started crying azure tears before the helpless dragon. "HOW were we supposed to know all the suffering we would cause just because we fought?"

Sly stood up from his seat and walked around the table to the spirits. "Look, Jitu, I don't have any idea what you guys did, but believe me, I know from experience that bad memories are the kind of thing you don't want wearing you down." Sly still remembered how he had lost his parents that terrible night eleven years ago. He would live with those memories for the rest of his days, but he knew that letting the past go and embracing the present was better then allowing the pain to engulf him. "Whatever it is you know, if it can help us stop OROBOROS and save my friends, please, just tell us."

Jitu looked up at the raccoon, her face glistening with tears. "Fine." She, followed by Tai, flew back to the center of the table and addressed the room. "When this world was first shaped, the only forms of sentient life were common beasts. But when some among these first creatures grew intelligent and developed awareness of that part of themselves you would call 'the soul,' it was deemed by Heaven that guardians would have to be assigned over the different aspects of nature, so to protect creation.

Tai pointed a claw at himself. "That's where we came in!"

Jitu ignored him and continued. "Out of the same egg we three were hatched, shaped by the mystic forces of this newly born planet. It was me, Tai," She looked down at the table, tears running down her beak. "And Pangu."

"I was born as the embodiment of Yan: the masculine force of creation." Tai proclaimed proudly. "I was given power over the elements of Light, Air, Flame, and Thunder." He pointed to Jitu. "She was born as the embodiment of Yin: the feminine force. She got to govern Darkness, Earth, Wood, and Water."

Sly and Carmelita gave each other perplexed looks. How could these small bickering creatures have had so much power? The NEXUS members did not seem so surprised and just continued listening to the spirits.

"Pangu was meant to be the embodiment of the world's life force." Jitu whispered loudly. "He kept everything in balance, making sure to prevent disorder between our forces. It was a Golden time." She sighed. "But because of our own stupid pride it all collapsed into ruin.

"One day, we began fighting really bad." Tai admitted with an ashamed expression on his reptilian face. "We both thought that our respective elements were greater then the other's. We began trying to hurt each one another, so full of rage that we didn't even notice what was going on around us."

Jitu nodded in a rare moment of agreement with him. "The earth shattered, the skies burned, the seas became dust: everything was thrown out of norm. Pangu saw what we were doing was destroying the world, killing thousands of innocents with our battle! He tried to reason with us but….but we just wouldn't listen!" She ducked her black feathered head under her wing as she began shaking with sobs."

Tai looked at her sadly and continued. "The big guy always knew what was the right thing to do, even if it wasn't the easiest choice. He used his own power to push us apart, making our attacks harm him instead of the world we were made to protect. After what seemed like centuries, he finally weakened us so much we could no longer fight." The dragon rubbed the back of his neck. "But he was really hurt."

Jitu got her head out from beneath her wing, her face filled with terror. "And the destruction we had brought was only the beginning. From our warring energies a terrible being was formed, shaped out of Chaos. With all three of us exhausted, it threatened to devour the entire planet, bringing all into oblivion. We were too weak to fight it, but Pangu wouldn't give up. He prayed to Heaven, begging for a miracle to stop the Chaos. He offered his own immortal life in exchange for that of creation.

"Heaven accepted his offering." Tai said. He closed his eyes tight, remembering that day. "Out of the forces of nature Heaven shaped the Seal of Creation."

"The Imperial Seal?" Sly asked, recalling what Marigold had read.

The spirit dragon nodded. "Yep. It was forged with the power to bind any mystic force or being, making them dormant and harmless. With the last of his strength, Pangu leapt into the maw of the Chaos beast and stamped it with the Seal."

"It worked just liked it was made to do." Jitu sobbed. "The beast was contained within a tablet, never to harm anyone or anything ever again. But Pangu had to keep his end of the deal. As he lay wounded, he poured his life energy into the elements, cleansing everything of the Chaos and restoring the natural order. And then….he died."

"As punishment for our crimes, Jitu and I were forced to give up our powers." Tai sighed. "Heaven placed our spirits within Pangu's own axe, which he had used to break us out of the egg we were born from, and formed it into a sword." He pointed to the black and white blade in front of Zhi. "For over ten millennia that sword has been our prison. We can't leave its presence and only can see the outside world when someone pulls it from its sheath. Which didn't happen for many centuries."

Jitu calmed down enough to explain. "We were found by a group of monks who kept us enshrined as a relic in their monastery. For many years we just listened to their meditations and remembered. We remembered everything…"

Zhi thanked the two and looked at Sly and Inspector Fox. "That is where I found them. When I was just a child, I was the only survivor of a plane that crashed in rural China. With no memory of my past, those very same monks took me in and raised me as their own along with the other acolytes. They taught me their ways, their fighting styles, and even gave me my name. They became my new family."

"_So that's what he meant by him being adopted." _Carmelita realized as she listened.

The Golden Retriever's expression darkened. "One day, however, OROBOROS came to our home. They had heard of the Seal, which the monks had hidden away along with the tablet, and wanted its power. When we told them the Seal had been stolen years ago by the First Empeor, but refused to reveal the location of the tablet, they attacked us. Their soldiers burned the monastery, and my family tried to fight back." He gripped the edges of the table. "Everyone was captured except me. I got trapped within the shrine, with the fires engulfing it. Trying to free myself, I grabbed the sword from its shrine and pulled it out, using it to break through the burning wood. When I finally got out and cleared my lungs of the smoke, everyone was gone." Zhi's eyes started to burn with furious tears. "They were taken away to who knows where."

He wiped his eyes with his hand and smiled sadly at the spirits.

"Tai and Jitu made themselves known to me, and seeing the damages, offered their help, which I accepted. We followed the trail left behind by the vehicles OROBOROS used to reach the monastery until we found one of their leaders leaving for Arabia."

"So when during all this did you meet NEXUS?" asked Carmelita.

Doyle stood up from his seat and took over for the Golden Retriever. "When Zhi tried to get to their base of operations in that area, he was almost overwhelmed by the forces OROBOROS stationed there. Thankfully we had detected the energy signature Tai and Jitu gave off and found him before it was too late. We offered to help him retrieve his family, and in exchange he would work with us in stopping OROBOROS."

"What about this leader you were following?" Sly asked after a moment of silence. "Did you get a good enough look of them?"

Zhi shook his head. "Sadly, no. They were wearing a veil when I saw them, so I was unable to identify their face. All I knew from their voice was that it was a woman."

"Well that just stinks." Carmelita got up from her seat and took out her shock pistol. "You know what? You all may have dragged me into this, but I really want to help now. There is no way on earth I am going to stand by and let people like OROBOROS get their way!"

Sly nodded in agreement. "I'm with the gorgeous Latina. If these guys think they can just mess around with people's lives, they've got another thing coming!"

"So, it is settled." Corvus rose from his seat, supporting himself on his cane. "Since Inspector Fox and Mr. Cooper have so willingly volunteered, we can now begin planning how to retrieve the Seal before whatever plan OROBOROS possesses takes fruit. I fear it is highly possible it may do with this tablet Tai and Jitu told us of." He looked at Doyle. "I will allow you jurisdiction over this assignment. Just a friendly word of advice: the more allies we have in this, the greater the possibility of success. Meeting adjourned."

As the raven left the conference room, Sly came up to Agent Doyle and tapped him on the shoulder to talk to him. "So, what exactly did he mean by that?"

Doyle gathered the papers he had been looking at, which seemed to be reports and satellite photos of the Southwest. "It means, Mr. Cooper, that we are going to find your friends."

**And the adventure begins! What will happen next time? Just wait for the next chapter to find out!**


	5. Danger Among the Dunes

**I don't own Sly Cooper, though I like the games. I do own the original characters I made. Please review! Any review will do! I really appreciate the feedback!**

_Phoenix, Arizona. USA. 9:10 P.M._

On the outskirts of Arizona's capital city, a large sandstone mesa cast a vast shadow over the desert dunes. Hidden away from prying eyes, the remains of a Native American village were built into one of the rock formation's crevices, hidden by a high cliff that encircled the site. The yellow stone towers and huts that once were the home of a vast Indian population was in modern times the secret base of OROBOROS' American division, led by mining billionaire Carl Winslow. Guards wearing night vision goggles wielded sniper rifles at every entrance, prepared for any unwanted 'visitors.' The heaviest of this security was focused around a many-storied tower, shaped like a stack of child's building blocks.

Within, Carl Winslow was watching security footage of his current prisoners, recently brought to him courtesy of Louie St. Leon. The horned toad was chewing on the end of a cigar, breathing a thick cloud of smoke around his luxurious hideout. Priceless antique Indian artwork and expensive leather furniture made up the space, all obtained thanks to the numerous gold, silver, and copper mines he owned throughout North America.

Of course, if OROBOROS' plan succeeded, his wealth would become infinitely greater. Which was why he focused as many of his current resources as he could into the organization's current project. Though that slimeball magician did bring in the Imperial Seal as promised, along with capturing two of the Cooper Gang, there was still a lot of work that needed to be done.

Turning away from the monitors, Winslow took a cell phone from his pocket and began typing in a long sequence of numbers, taking about a minute to do so. He would have had it on speed dial, but the horned toad knew if he did that, his hide would be tanned for being so careless. OROBOROS took secrecy very seriously, not even entirely informing their employees of their activities. The other end of the line picked up and a muffled female voice answered.

"Well, how are your guests treating you?"

Winslow grunted. "Alright so far. The turtle is still out cold - the weakling - though that there chubby hippo has been real rambunctious. I'm half ready to sedate the boy as it is, ya know?"

"Just be patient Winslow," The woman replied. "Once they are no longer needed, I assure you that you will have the pleasure of slaughtering them."

The horned toad laughed, liking what he heard. "Heh, heh! Ya sure have a way with words, Miss Al-ghul.

"That is Lady Al-ghul, to you, my American associate." The woman corrected in a steely tone.

"Whoa, whoa, hold your horses, my 'Lady!' Not meaning any disrespect there." Winslow hastily apologized.

After the leader of OROBOROS, Isra Al-ghul was the only other person he feared in the world. They didn't call her the 'Lady of Final Nights' just for show!

"Anyways, how's the work goin' on that Seal?"

Al-ghul sighed in frustration. "Unfortunately, it seems as if the Seal is not fully complete. The engraving that allowed it to perform its enchantment is missing. From what our research has discovered, it was deliberately removed. We believe it may have been the inhabitants of that monastery."

"Those no good snakes in the grass!" Winslow growled.

The other end of the call was deadly silent.

The horned toad's eyes widened as he realized the danger of what he just said. "Oh shoot! Again Mi..I mean Lady Al-ghul, no disrespect meant!"

"Just continue to watch the prisoners." She replied quietly. "Since Sly Cooper was not found at the station along with his cohorts, we can be sure that NEXUS has already retrieved him for their purposes." She paused. "It would not do if his Gang reunites. You do remember what they did to the Fiendish Five."

"Don't ya worry, my Lady! They ain't going to ever leave this here desert."

"See that they don't." With that, the line went dead.

_Phoenix, Arizona. USA. 9:12 P.M._

"I don't get why we have to dress like this." Carmelita grumbled.

Sly grinned at her. "Because, mi amore, we are undercover. Remember?"

"One: If you call me 'amore' again, I'll be tempted to blow this ruse and beat you into next week. And two: I know we are undercover. I just don't know why my disguise had to involve being half of a couple with YOU."

Sly shrugged, though he knew very well he had suggested the idea to Doyle. "Just lucky I guess. So, lets just relax and enjoy our time together. Maybe a little late dinner?"

Carmelita glared at him, though she did feel a little peckish. "Fine, but you're buying. Got it?"

Sly tipped his hat to her and winked. "Whatever you say, darlin'."

Sly and Carmelita were disguised as a Southern couple while they roamed the city of Phoenix. After the meeting back at NEXUS, Doyle had sent them, along with himself, Zhi, and Marigold, to investigate reports of strange activity occurring in the area: much of which involved sightings of high tech non-military aircraft patrolling the dunes at night.

A possible sign of OROBOROS' presence.

To confirm these reports, Doyle made sure to have Marigold try and scry Murray and Bentley's location, using possessions of the two that were not destroyed at the hideout. As luck would have it, she picked up a strong reading from both of Sly's friends coming from around Phoenix. Unfortunately, that was all she could discover magically. Which was why a little covert work was needed.

Sly was dressed in jeans, a red plaid button down shirt, and worn out sneakers. His father's hat was replaced by a Cardinal's baseball cap. Carmelita was wearing a white tank top, a long white skirt, pink sunglasses, and sandals. A yellow sunhat covered her head, while a small blue purse hung from her shoulder. After hours of searching, they were now way downtown, almost near the desert.

After a while of walking, they finally found a decent looking diner. It was a pretty old fashioned place, like something out of a 70's movie, covered in chrome. The name 'GRANNY's' was in pink neon over the double glass doors. Inside a line of red leather booths encircling a long grey counter.

Behind the counter, an old female spider in a pink waitress uniform and white apron was wiping the surface with a washcloth. Her grey hair had steaks of black and was held back in a hairnet, while a nametag with the name 'Granny' was pinned on her front. Hearing the bell over the door ring as Sly and Carmelita entered, she put the washcloth down and looked up, a motherly smile on her wrinkled face.

"Hello dears! You're in a little late, aren't you?" She asked in a clear deep voice, despite her great age.

"Yeah, hope you don't mind." Sly said as they sat down at the counter. "We just were a little caught up with work earlier and didn't have time for dinner until now."

"That's quite alright," The old waitress said, taking a pen out of her hair and posing it over a small notepad. "Welcome to Granny's. I'm the owner, Granny,"- she smirked about stating the obvious- "and I'll be serving you tonight."

"Gracias, senora." Carmelita picked up a menu and scanned the contents. "I think I'll have the cheese quesadilla with a side of black beans and rice, please. Oh, and an iced tea.

Sly examined his own menu. "Hmm. I'll have the burger and fries,… and a vanilla shake.

Granny wrote the orders down on her notepad and smiled. "Coming right up. Won't be a minute!" She went to a small window behind the counter and rang a service bell on its sill. "Hey Donny! One quesadilla and one burger, both with the works, and a vanilla shake!"

"Alright Granny, keep your hairnet on!" A gruff voice called from the other side. "I can hear them just fine!"

"I hope so!" Granny answered with a warning tone. The old spider turned to Carmelita. "I'll get your tea, dear." She went over to a row of pitchers and filled a plastic cup with one full of a light brown clear liquid. Putting a lemon wedge on the rim of the glass, she placed it in front of Inspector Fox. "There you go!"

"Thanks." Carmelita took a sip of her drink. Her brown eyes lit up. "Mmm! This is pretty good. Did you make it?"

Granny nodded with a pleased look. "Yes, I'm glad you noticed. I add a little prickly pear juice to our tea. Our people used to use the stuff for medicine, but I like it for its taste.

"Your people?"

"Oh, the Hopi, honey. The original inhabitants of this land. Both Donny back there and I are pure-blooded Hopi." Granny grinned. "Yep, our families have been here way before this city was even built.

"So I'm guessing you probably know a lot about the desert?" Sly asked.

"I suppose so. There is little out there that our people did not already long know of."

Sly saw this as a perfect opportunity to get some local information. He pretended to be half-distracted by a rack of pies on the counter. "What do you make of all of those strange things happening out there right now? I mean, they're saying some pretty freaky stuff is going on."

Granny frowned, causing her wrinkles to spread over her face like cracks in the Arizona soil under harsh sunlight. "Yes, I have heard about those so called sightings. I've had all sorts of New Age followers and UFO fanatics coming in lately, convinced those ships that have been sighted are from outer space." The old woman shook her head in disgust. "A whole bunch of foolishness if you ask me. No, something more sinister is at work right now among the sands.

Sly and Carmelita shared a sideways look. "What do you mean?" Sly asked.

Granny leaned forward, lowering her voice to a harsh whisper. "These invaders are mere men of flesh and blood, but their purpose here is not innocent. They are all surrounding a sacred site, the remains of an ancient city our people built and abandoned long ago. Though the Hopi are gone from it that does not change the fact that the place is hollowed ground. Our ancestors were born, lived, loved, grew old, and died on that land. Now, it has been taken away." She looked deeply at the two with eyes as dark and ageless as the earth. "For what reason, I fear the absolute worst."

After what seemed like an eternity of silence, a brown furred hand rang the bell on the kitchen windowsill and held out two plates of food. "Order up!"

Releasing Sly and Carmelita from her gaze, Granny took the hot plates and placed them in front of her customers, than retrieved Sly's shake from the outstretched hand and placed it next to the raccoon's burger. Granny smiled cheerily as if the previous conversation had never happened. "Enjoy!"

Slightly shaken by the old waitress, the two focused on their meals. Which they were pleased to find were very delicious. As he ate his burger, Sly began to wonder if Granny was really what she seemed. After all, the way she looked at them, that darkness in her eyes, it was frightening. Primal even.

After finishing their meals and Sly paid the check, the two began to get up from their seats.

"And where do you think you're going?" Granny asked.

They froze in place, half rising.

"You don't even have a decent guide."

Carmelita quickly tried to get into character. She raised her eyebrows in feigned confusion. "Huh? I'm sorry, but why would we need a guide?

The old spider chuckled. "Hon, you may have dressed for the part, but I know quite well that you are not from around here. You are here about the sightings." Granny gave them her soul-searching gaze. "And perhaps something more serious?"

"_Is she a NEXUS agent?" _Carmelita pondered. Doyle never mentioned any covert operatives in Arizona.

Before either Sly or Carmelita could ask any questions, Granny turned and rang the service bell for the kitchen. She yelled, "Donny, get out here now!"

The kitchen door swung open and a dark haired coyote came out, wearing acid washed jeans, a red T-shirt, and a stained apron. He was in his late twenties and was taking off plastic gloves and a hairnet as he left the kitchen.

"Alright! I'm coming!" he growled as he glared at Granny. "You know, when I took this job there was never anything about being a babysitter to tourists!"

"Yes, but you did agree to do any odd job I needed done, along with the cooking." She pointed a thumb at Sly and Carmelita. "These two nice people need a guide, and I know you still go hiking around the mesas on the weekends."

"Fine." The coyote threw his gloves and hairnet on the counter. He then removed his apron and threw it with them. "But I better get a pay raise for this."

"I'll think about it." Said Granny.

"I'm sure you will." The coyote grumbled as he gestured for Sly and Carmelita to follow him out the door.

"What was that?"

The coyote cringed, quickening his pace. "Nothing! Must have been the wind!"

Following the coyote outside, Sly and Carmelita could hear the faint sound of laughter as the diner's double door shut behind them.

The coyote looked over their shoulders, as if fearing Granny would follow them. He relaxed when he spotted the old spider go into the kitchen, and held out his hand to Sly and Carmelita. "The name's Donny, though you probably heard the old girl shout it already."

Sly shook his hand. "Steve Carpenter." He quickly winked at Carmelita.

Carmelita took the hint. "Cathy Fey."

Donny shook his head. "Naw, naw. You have to do to better then that." He crossed his arms. "Seriously? Those are the best names you came up with?"

"What-" Sly began to ask.

"Buddy, I've done a few tricks in my time. Had a few laughs. I think I can tell when someone is lying through their teeth."

Carmelita pointed a finger at Donny. "Look, whether or not we're not using our real names is our business. So how about you show us this village we heard about," She pointed to the diner. "Or do you want us to get Granny?"

Donny looked at her, appalled at her threat.

"_Whoa, I never knew Carmelita could be that cunning. _Sly thought with appreciation. _"Ah, she just becomes even more ravishing with every second."_

Donny looked like he was going to protest Carmelita's blackmail, but he just smirked. "So you found my weak spot. I can respect that." He began walking away from the two. He turned to look at them, a bored look on his brown furred face. "Are you coming or not?"

Sly nodded to Carmelita, who returned the gesture and followed the coyote. After passing by a seemingly endless line of convenience stores, gas stations, and one-story homes, they were finally at the outskirts of Phoenix, going right into the desert. The cool night air flew across the dunes, shifting the sands into small dust devils. Spiny cacti dotted the landscape, varying from many limbed giants to round, flowering dwarves. Formations of orange dusty stone lined the horizon, shaped from a long gone time when the desert was the site of a prehistoric ocean.

Donny pointed to a large wall-like formation. "That's where the village is built. You can't see it from here though. The Hopi made sure to hide it in plain site, concealed behind a curtain of stone. Clever old geezers."

Sly squinted, trying to get a clearer vision of the mesa. His brown eyes widened. "Wait, what's that?"

Three dark shapes detached from the shadow of the formation, heading at incredible speeds towards the group.

Donny swore beneath his breath. "The ships! We have to find shelter!"

"Do you really think that will do any good?" Carmelita argued. She took out her Shock Pistol from her purse. "We should meet them head on!"

Sly grabbed her arm. "As much as I admire your fiery attitude Inspector, hiding might be the best idea right now."

The vixen pulled her arm from his grasp. "That might be fine for you Cooper, but I'm not going run like a coward! You want to do it? Be my guest." She aimed her weapon at the approaching crafts, waiting for the right moment to attack.

Donny groaned. "Why is it all women are crazy?" He threw himself behind a cactus, making sure not to get pricked by the spines.

Sly examined Carmelita's face. She was wearing the same resolute expression she always had when she was chasing him. It meant she wasn't going to be giving up any time soon.

He sighed. "Inspector, it's been fun." He prepared to meet the ships with her, hoping that, since he left his cane back at NEXUS for the undercover job, he could just rely on his natural skills to help fight whoever was approaching. Though he really doubted he could do much to help deal with this enemy.

As the ships approached, their features were more defined. They were covered in black painted metal and were shaped much like Air Force jets in design. They were however, larger in size. They also seemed much more flexible with landing as they gentle lowering themselves to the ground. Hatches opened on the front of each craft, lowering thin walkways down which heavily armed commandos ran. Each was armed with snipers, pistols, and other lethal weaponry. They surrounded Sly and Carmelita, who still had her Shock Pistol posed to fire.

One of the commandos stepped forward. He was a hawk with dark orange feathers and a red beak. A pair of black sunglasses was perched on his beak. "Look what we've got here boys! Looks like a couple of nosy tourists coming to see some aliens!" The hawk guffawed, and was soon joined in by his men. After wiping a fake tear from his eye, the hawk pointed at Carmelita. "Alright miss, now how about you put down that weapon of yours before you hurt yourself?"

"Make me, you old buzzard!"

"Oh, so we have ourselves a fighter." The hawk whistled. "Well, I guess we'll have to do this the hard way." As quick as lightning, the hawk smacked the Shock Pistol out of Carmelita's hands and knocked her upside the head with his fist.

Unprepared for such a quick attack, Carmelita fell to the ground, unconscious.

"YOU BASTARD!" Sly cried. He threw a punch at the hawk. The commando dodged the blow and grabbed Sly's outstretched arm. He pulled the arm behind the raccoon's back and twisted it. Sly screamed as his arm burned with pain.

"Now, I told her she would get hurt. So if you don't want to join her, you better cooperate." The hawk warned. He pulled a pair of handcuffs from his belt and slapped them on Sly's wrists. "You should feel lucky the boss wants you both alive."

"Bite me." Sly grunted, earning a hard slap across his face.

"Now what did I just say?" the hawk sighed. "Let's bring them in, boys!"

Two of the commandos picked up Carmelita and brought her into one of the ships. The hawk and his group forced Sly to follow them into their own separate craft. As the hatches silently shut and the ships lifted from the ground, Donny watched unhappily from behind his cactus as his charges were taken away.

"Great. More work for me."

**How will Sly get out of this? Please review and find out next chapter!**


End file.
